Differences Revealed In Europe’s New Media Uptake

There are substantial differences in the degree to which countries are preparing themselves for the new media age, according to FutureTrack – Europe, a major new study conducted in eleven European countries by the Euroquest partnership. Certain countries and regions show themselves to be very quick on the uptake of new media technologies – Scandinavia, Germany and the Netherlands for example have above-average awareness and penetration of computing, at home and at work, and of the Internet – while France, Austria and Italy are slower to embrace new developments.

Findings include:

• Television: Digital TV, soon to launch for many, has been heard of by only 53% of respondents overall. This rises to 77% in Germany, but is as low as 25% in Italy, where there is a form of digital service already available. Interactive TV is understood by fewer still, with only 37% of Europeans having heard of it.
• Computing: On average, a third of all adults (33%) have household access to some form of computer and 32% of all adults use a computer at work. However, a significant percentage of adults are not in paid in employment. Excluding non-workers, about half of workers use computers. A significant proportion of home computers show some degree of sophistication. On average across the countries surveyed, one adult in six (17%) has access to a computer with CD ROM and about one in ten (10%) has access to a multimedia PC.
• Internet: Awareness of the Internet is already very high. In most countries at least 80% of the public have heard of it. This exceeds 90% in the Netherlands and Scandinavia. However, only 47% of Europeans overall claim a pretty good understanding of the term. In the average European country, 7% of adults have access to the Internet, compared with about a quarter of American adults. In terms of connected computers, the UK and Germany dominate. In proportionate terms however, Internet access is having the greatest impact in Scandinavia: in Sweden 12% of the population have home access to the Internet and in Norway the figure is 10%. The figures are lowest in France (3%), Austria (3%) and Italy (1%).

For more details contact: Fiona Warren, BMRB International, 0181 280 8246